


Fly Me To The Moon

by WonderlandPup



Category: Among Us (Video Game), EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Among Us (Video Game) Setting, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Character Death, Death, Near Death Experiences, Science Fiction, but its among us, for death, kpop boys in space, so that should be expected, this was meant to be better, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:20:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27257821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WonderlandPup/pseuds/WonderlandPup
Summary: Chanyeol wants to join a colony. Someone else apparently doesn't want him to.ORPeople keep dying. Confusion ensues.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4





	Fly Me To The Moon

**Author's Note:**

> I'm gonna go ahead and apologize for the formatting. AO3 hates me and doesn't let me space things properly. With that said, this is based the app Among Us. This means, of course, that *somebody* had to be the bad guy. I love all my EXO boys, so no harm is meant. If you haven't played the game, you might be a bit confused. Best of luck.

“All crewmates report to your shuttle for takeoff.” 

Chanyeol jumps up, making sure to take his admin I.D card out so he can board quickly. Training for this mission had taken up the last five years of his life, he wasn’t going to waste any more time on Earth than was absolutely necessary. 

The admin working the desk smiles as she checks the information. “And you have the red suit, correct?”

“Yes ma’am, I do.” Once Chanyeol’s shuttle gets to the ship, helmets will have to be worn at all times. It could be difficult to see faces behind visors in well-lit areas, so every crewmate is assigned a different color suit, each with their Space Management logos on their breast pockets, so they each come up to the uniform code, despite the different colors. 

“Alright, you’re set. Good luck in space!” She hands him his card back, and he bows as he takes it, before turning up to the shuttle. 

He stops to take a breath before going in. This is his last chance to back out. His mom had thrown a fit when he’d gotten his assignments. Of course they’d all known this day was coming, but she acted like she would never see him again. To some extent, Chanyeol thinks, this is true. Inhabiting the colonies is a one-way trip. If you choose to go, you’re going for life. But he could always video call, and send messages. This has been his dream his whole life, and in the end, of course his mom had accepted that. He squares his shoulders, and steps on board.

There’s already four of his crewmates on board, and he bows politely before stepping into the changing room and getting into his suit. He steps out and fastens his helmet securely, taking the seat next to a crewmate in pink. 

"Are you excited?" The lights are dim enough that Chanyeol can just see inside the pink astronaut's helmet, an adorable boy that immediately sent Chanyeol's mind to the dog shelter he used to volunteer at, where there was one little dog who used to jump around and make friends with the first humans he saw, wanting to go home. Chanyeol had cried for hours when the little dog got put down, having never been adopted.

"Yeah, I am. Are you?" 

"Sure. I mean, how often do you get to be part of a space colony?" His words are confident, but his voice shakes. Chanyeol pretends not to notice.

He grins, and holds out his hand to shake. "Park Chanyeol."

"Byun Baekhyun." The boy beams at him, and shakes his hand. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Baekhyun finds that he really likes his crewmates. Junmyeon, in a blue uniform, has already shown them a picture from his wallet of his younger brother Jongin, as he brags about Jongin getting so close to graduating, and at the top of his class, so he can follow them to the Second Sector Settlement in a few years. Their guide Yifan, in black, takes the ship back and forth, and gets a sappy tone in his voice when he talks about his fiance Zitao back at headquarters.

Yixing, in green, is travelling to the settlement to work as a doctor, and Minseok is an environmental scientist ready to learn about the area surrounding the settlement. His suit is all white, and Baekhyun thinks it must be hard to keep clean, but Minseok apparently can’t stand anything messy or dirty, so he must be in the practice of keeping his clothes spotless anyway. When they talk, Baekhyun just thinks that Minseok chose a strange job for someone who hates dirt, but the older man is passionate when he talks, so maybe not. 

The man in the orange suit is Lu Han, who’s moving to the settlement because his long time girlfriend Xiatong is already there. Han tells Baekhyun all about Xiatong’s job, with all the animated excitement of a man in love, but he uses so many science terms that Baekhyun gets lost very quickly into the conversation.

The yellow, purple, and brown astronauts are Sehun, Jongdae, and Kyungsoo respectively, but Baekhyun misses it when they say why they’re there, being way too distracted by Chanyeol sitting next to him. Chanyeol is just so tall. 

Altogether, it’s an easy group to get along with, and they fall into easy conversation and laughter as they buckle into the shuttle. The shuttle rattles as it ascends to the ship, and if Baekhyun feels a shiver of apprehension as they rise, he doesn’t show it.

Except maybe he does, because Chanyeol next to him puts a hand on his shoulder and squeezes reassuringly before there’s a screech and a gentle thud.

This is it; they’re on the ship, ready for the official takeoff.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Chanyeol takes a deep breath as he steps onto the ship. Here it is. This is his future. He takes a second, and looks back. Baekhyun is standing on the shuttle, just a step away. Chanyeol thinks to the glimpse of his face on the shuttle, before the lights made it impossible to see each other’s faces, and of the shudder that ran through the smaller man when they took off. He must be so scared.

Chanyeol holds his hand out to Baekhyun. A pink glove starts to reach, and hesitates. And then reaches again, and Baekhyun steps into the ship. His helmet tips up, and Chanyeol knows that he’s looking up at him.

“Thanks. I...Thanks.”

“Anytime. We’ve got each other’s backs up here.”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“All crew, report to the cafeteria. Immediately.” Yifan’s voice is tense over the intercoms. Chanyeol sighs, and logs out of the computer where he was sending his daily log to HQ. 

When he gets to the cafeteria, most of the crew is already there, gathered around a table. He takes his place, sliding in next to Baekhyun. Yifan does a head count, and after acknowledging that everyone was present, crossed his arms over his chest.

“We’re having problems with our reactor. It almost had a meltdown earlier, but Baekhyun and I were there to stop it. The problem is, these reactor meltdowns can’t be fixed entirely while we’re in space. From here on out, we need to take shifts keeping an eye on the reactor, so we can set the alarm if anything starts to go wrong.”

Chanyeol feels Baekhyun tense beside him, but before he can try and comfort him, purple (Jongdae, Chanyeol reminds himself) on his other side is nodding. “I’m a mechanic, and I specialize in ships similar to this one. If something starts to go wrong, just pull the alarm, I’ll get there as fast as I can.”

Baekhyun raises his hand to ask a question. “How long will our shifts be, exactly? We should probably go ahead and make a schedule, so we can work our tasks around those shifts.”

“Good idea. Let’s get started.”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“So your brother is coming to the colonies after he graduates?”

Junmyeon beams, happy that Minseok is friendly enough to start a conversation as they walk together. “Yes! He’s in his last year at the Academy, and then he'll transfer to his training base. Once he finishes up there, he’ll just be waiting for his assignment.”

“Is he excited to follow in his big brother’s footsteps?”

“I’m not so sure it’s me that he’s excited to follow. Everyone in our family has been a part of this. Our parents were one of the last generations of explorers. They left when we were really little, and our uncle raised us. I remember hearing that the explorers had finally found a livable habitat, and thinking my parents would come home.”

“But they didn’t.” Minseok turns to see him better. “Were they settlers, once they’d found it?”

“No. They had died on the journey. The reports didn’t come for a long time afterwards, but we all kind of knew already. My uncle always said that they loved us, and would never have gone that long without trying to reach us, if they were able to.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah. I am too, but I barely remember them. I think if it weren’t for all the pictures, I might not even remember what they looked like.”

“That has to be hard.”

“Not as hard as it would be for others, I guess. I wonder about them a lot. What their voices sounded like, or if they would be proud of me. But I had my uncle to raise me. He was great, too.”

“Was?”

“Oh, sorry, no. He went to the colonies last year. They finally called him for assignment, and with Jongin at the Academy dorms, and me an adult, he accepted. I’m pretty excited to see him again.”

“I would be, too. He sounds like a good man.”

Junmyeon smiles, even though he knows Minseok can’t see it through the helmets. “Yeah. He really is.”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Chanyeol is at the reactor, bored out of his mind, but not stupid enough to want something to happen, when he hears footsteps. They’re coming in his direction, and so fast that he knows the other person is running. He looks out the door and sees Baekhyun sprinting down the hallway, right towards him. 

Chanyeol reaches out and catches Baekhyun, stopping him, and pulls him out of the center of the hallway, so he can still keep an eye on the reactor. 

“Hey, what’s going on, Baek?”

“I gotta find Yifan. There’s, there’s something out there.”

“What do you mean?” Baekhyun’s chest is heaving, and Chanyeol can practically hear the man’s heart beating rapidly. “Take a deep breath, Baek. Deep breath. In, and out, and in, and out. Good job. Now, what’s out there?”

“I was at the O2 chamber, emptying the filters, and I heard someone knocking. I thought maybe the door was stuck, because that’s happened to me a couple times, you know, but when I walked by, it just opened up and there wasn’t anybody there.”

Chanyeol nods.

“And then I heard the knocking again. It was coming from outside the ship.” 

Chanyeol freezes. He glances at the reactor, hoping he won’t regret this later. “Our reactor is fine, right now. Show me where you heard the knocking.”

They manage to pick up Minseok and Junmyeon on the way back to the O2 chamber, Minseok excited at the thought of seeing new life forms outside the ship, and Junmyeon carrying his blaster for the same reason. 

It’s silent when they get there, and the four of them hold their breath as the silence gets heavier in the air. And then, there’s a knocking. It’s loud, and then quiet, and loud again, and Chanyeol is trying to figure out the pattern of what he’s hearing when Baekhyun gasps and starts to walk.

“Baekhyun, what are you doing?” Junmyeon hisses.

“Can’t you hear it?” Baekhyun keeps walking. “It wants us to follow.”

And it’s crazy, but it’s not like they have any other ideas, so when Minseok shrugs and follows Baekhyun, Chanyeol does too. Junmyeon sighs and says something under his breath about stupid scientists not having survival instincts, but grips his blaster and follows, shoulders squared back. 

They keep following until Baekhyun stops and so does the strongest of the knocks, and the airlock door is right in front of them. 

“What the fuck?” Junmyeon whispers. 

There’s silence on the other side, and the four of them listen. Chanyeol’s about to relax and pretend it never happened when the knocking starts again, louder and more insistent. 

Minseok takes a step back. “This is freaky.”

Junmyeon shakes his head. “How do we know this isn’t what a ship in space normally sounds like? That isn’t something they cover in the Academy.” He walks up to the airlock door, and knocks three times, before turning to look back at the others. “See, totally normal-”

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Junmyeon turns to face the door, and then scrambles away, blaster trained on the door. 

“Wait!” Baekhyun hisses. “It’s outside, right? It can’t get in unless we let it. You don't have to hurt it.”

“Baekhyun’s right,” Minseok says calmly. “Once we get to the Settlement, you'll be trained as our guard. You may have to protect the settlement from other life forms, but for right now, we’re in their territory. It might just be curious.”

Junmyeon grumbles, but lowers the blaster, and Chanyeol can see Baekhyun relax from here. He must not like the blasters, Chanyeol thinks. His older sister is the same way.

“Let’s just go get Yifan. He does this all the time, he’ll know if this is normal or not.”

The others nod, but as they turn to leave, the sound of a blaster firing rang through the ship. The sound was unmistakable, and they all took off running to find the source.

When they finally find the source, it turns out to be Jongdae, collapsed on the ground with his blaster next to him. Yixing is kneeling over him, slumping over in defeat as the group comes in, with Yifan sitting against the wall across from them.

“He’s gone,” Yixing’s voice is raw as he sits back.

“What happened?” Baekhyun’s voice is small.

Yifan shakes his head. “I don’t know. I heard the shot and came to check it out. Yixing got here just a few minutes later. He’s the doctor, I figured he had a better chance of saving him than I did.”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“So we’re going with he shot himself? Really?” Han sounds skeptical.

“Do you have any other ideas? Or are you wanting us to just go pointing fingers at each other? I will look into it, and we’ll check the security cameras. In the meantime, there’s nothing else we can do other than keep on with our normal routine. I’ll report it to HQ, so unless anyone has anything else to add, we’d better get back to our routines. This ship won’t get us to the settlement if we’re not running maintenance on it.”

“There’s something outside the ship.” Junmyeon’s voice is grim, and leaves no room for doubt. 

There’s a pause of silence.

“What?” Sehun sounds tired. He was so young, Chanyeol thought. Surely too young to be worrying about dead crewmates and life forms outside the ship knocking to come in.

Junmyeon tells everyone the story, and by the end, everyone around the table is silent. Yifan lets out a long sigh.

“I’m too old for this shit. Alright, I’ll include it in the report to HQ, but I wouldn’t worry. This happens every few trips or so, but nothing can get in unless we let them. Anything else?”

“I’ll go to security and check the cameras. Anybody want to come with me?” Junmyeon looks around, and nods approvingly when Kyungsoo volunteers. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Baekhyun sighs as he sits at the cafeteria table, across from Chanyeol

“Long day, huh?” 

“Yeah. Is it wrong that I’m not really sad? Like it is sad, and I hate it? But I never even met Jongdae until we were on the shuttle up here.”

“Nah, it’s not wrong. He seemed like a great guy, but like you said, you’d never met. I heard a rumour when I was training that they only send up one person from each training center at a time. I always figured it was so that each training center would have to get the same amount of funding, but did you see Yifan’s reaction? He was so tired, and yeah I’d say he was upset, but he didn’t seem surprised, did he? Maybe this kind of thing happens more than we think. If we don’t know each other beforehand, well. None of us are too busy mourning to keep the ship running, I guess.”

Baekhyun lets out a laugh, it sounds empty, to Chanyeol. “God, Chanyeol, that’s so morbid. I don’t think you’re wrong though. The training center I was at was a lot of things, but I wouldn’t say compassionate was one of them.”

“Which center did you train at?”

“Mira. Up in the mountains.”

Chanyeol cringes. “Sorry to hear that. My center always said Mira was the harshest one.”

“Yeah, it sucked. I didn’t even want this job.” Baekhyun sighs. “Now look at where I’m at.”

“Why join the program if you didn’t want to go to the colonies?”

“My older brother was sick. Like, really, really, sick. Being a trainee was the first job I could get, and because Mira has so much trouble keeping trainees, you make more money there. But once you pass everything, you’re stuck. So, I’m here, heading for the colonies, all to afford medicine for a brother I’ll never talk to again.”

“Can’t colonists call home, at least?”

“No. Didn’t you hear Han earlier? They still haven’t gotten any long-distance comms or data working at the colonies. Han said he hadn’t heard from his girlfriend since she left for the colonies last month, because of it.” 

Chanyeol frowns. That can’t be right. “What if something goes wrong at the colonies? How do they call for help?” 

Baekhyun just shrugs.

“How long will it be until they get servers up with long enough range to work?”

“I don’t know. That’s why Sehun is coming up, you know? He’s IT. He’s supposed to get the servers up, but there’s no guarantee he can get them working any time soon.”

“And, uh, we’re relying on one person to do all this? Nothing against Sehun, but that seems a touch unrealistic.”

Baekhyun scoffs. “Just a touch.” He stands up. “I’m gonna go check the O2 filters again. They get gunked up so quickly.”

“Have fun with that.”

Baekhyun squeezes Chanyeol’s shoulder as he passes. “Don’t worry about the comms, Chanyeol. Like you said before, we’ll have each other’s backs.”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“What are you working on?” Sehun looks up to see Minseok coming into the room.

“Just typing up my report. You?”

“Same.” Minseok takes a seat at the computer next to Sehun. “Isn’t it just a little ridiculous to have to do these every day? I can understand it on the settlement, there’s so much data to collect there, but on the ship? What do they think is gonna happen here?”

“They’re probably still wanting to perfect the trip for future settlers. Especially the Americans. Not just wanting the ship to get us there, but looking for any conveniences they can find to not have to work on the trip.”

Minseok laughs. “You might be onto something, kid.”

It’s silent, for a few minutes, and comfortable. Sehun likes it. He’s never liked it too loud, and Minseok has been very nice since they met on the shuttle. He finds himself breaking the silence, surprising himself.

“You’re an environmental scientist, right? What will you be doing at the colonies?”

“Ah, yeah, I am. I’ll actually be doing more than just my own field of study, until we get more people, but in general, I’ll be studying the nature around the settlement. What animals might be dangerous, what plants are edible or good for healing, versus what’s poisonous. It’s a long process, but I’m excited to see just how much more life is out there that we’ve never even known before.”

“That sounds cool, hyung. But wouldn’t it be dangerous? If you come across any dangerous animals?”

“Well, sure. I’ll have to take guards out with me. But it’s important work.”

“Yeah, it sounds like it.”

“What are you going to be doing at the settlement?”

“IT work, mostly. They don’t have any good systems set up, so I’ll be getting it started.”

“No offense meant, but shouldn’t they be sending up someone a bit older, for that?”

“I requested it, actually. I don’t have anything waiting back home.”

“Oh, sorry. Break up with a girlfriend or something?”

“Actually, I’m gay. When I came out to my parents…”

Minseok winces. “Sorry kid. Coming out isn’t easy.”

“You’re gay?”

“Yeah. My family didn’t care, though. Once you get our systems set up at the colonies, I’ll call home and they’ll probably want to adopt you immediately.”

Sehun laughs, and finds himself grateful for the helmet as he feels a blush rising on his cheeks. This has been his easiest time coming out, by far. He sends his report and leans back in his seat, watching Minseok as the older man’s fingers fly across the keyboard. He must be used to typing up reports, Sehun thinks, considering his job.

“So, you’re gonna get a whole communications system working on the settlement?”

“Yeah. I know it’s ambitious, but…Well, I figured if I could get this much done, my parents would have to be proud of me. If only for that.”

He sees Minseok hit send, and then the older man turns to face him directly.

“I think they will be. If I had to hazard a guess, without meeting them, I’d say they probably already are, and they just don’t know how to deal with it after you’ve come out. So many people in their generation have internalized so many bad things from the generation before them, just like we have. They have to learn how to let it go before they’ll see you for who you are, and some parents learn that sooner than others.”

Sehun swallows hard, but Minseok continues.

“Some...don’t learn it at all. And whether or not yours do, but especially if they don’t, you have to learn how to live without their approval. It’s hard, at first. But I’ll help, if you need me to.”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

They’re gathered in the Cafeteria again, waiting on Junmyeon and Kyungsoo to show them what they’ve found from the security cameras, but the men still haven’t shown up yet, and the longer the crew waits, the more tense they each get. 

“Uhm, maybe we should go to security and check on them.” Sehun speaks first, and everyone nods at his words.

They all head to security, and Chanyeol isn’t remotely ready for the sight of his crewmates collapsed on the ground. Yixing gasps and drops next to them, immediately checking for a pulse in either one, but shakes his head when he doesn’t find one. 

“How?” Minseok’s voice is thick.

Sehun walks over to the security desk and starts typing at something. Chanyeol doesn’t understand what he’s seeing on the screen, but Sehun is letting out a frustrated sigh. “It’s all wiped clean. And these cameras are down.” 

Yifan sighs. “Can you get any of it back? The cameras, the data, anything?”

“I can try.”

“Great, work on that. I need a volunteer to help me carry Junmyeon and Kyungsoo to the freezer pods, so I can return them home with Jongdae on the way back to Earth.”

Baekhyun raises his hand.

Yifan nods. “The rest of you...I don’t know. Get back to your tasks, I guess.”

He sounds weary, and Chanyeol thinks of his conversation with Baekhyun earlier that day. How many times has Yifan done this?

Baekhyun lifts Kyungsoo onto his shoulders, and Yifan scoops Junmyeon up gently, and once they’re gone, the crewmates all look at each other.

“Something’s not right,” Han looks around, uneasiness becoming clear in his voice. “Something here is very, very wrong.”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Baekhyun is walking with Han, at the airlock now, inspecting the wiring along the ship. They’ve been talking on and off, but it isn’t going well. Han is distrustful after they found Junmyeon and Kyungsoo, and the silence that stretches out now is so taught that Baekhyun feels like he could reach out and break it. 

He’s always been a bit introverted but he tries to make friends wherever he goes, and to be so blatantly unsuccessful leaves a bitter taste in his mouth, and feeling as though his stomach is just a second away from dropping. He just can’t shake this feeling that something wrong is about to happen, and he won’t be able to stop it. 

“Where exactly were you? When Junmyeon and Kyungsoo were checking the cameras?” Han finally asks, voice cold, and Baekhyun wishes for the happy voice that Han had when they met on the shuttle.

“I was with Chanyeol, in the cafeteria.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

“What? I’m not. I’m not lying.”

“Like hell you aren’t,” Han says. The statement hits Baekhyun, his heart feeling just for a moment like it had stopped. “I know what you really are.”

“I’m a crewmate of this ship. Going to the colonies, just like you.”

Baekhyun stops to check the wiring, and feels something hard smack into his helmet. It cracks, and he turns to see Han holding his blaster up to Baekhyun. 

“No. You’re not.”

Baekhyun pulls up his hand to block his face from another hit, or god forbid, a shot. It’s all reflex, however sloppy. But his glove is caught on one of the wires and it snaps as he brings up his hand. The airlock doors start opening and Baekhyun grasps at the wall, trying to find any hold he can to not go flying. 

He feels wind at the back of his head and remembers the crack in his helmet.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The airlock alarm is blaring and all Chanyeol can think about is the alien knocking to come in. He runs to the airlock, with Sehun and Minseok flanking him on the way as they come running, too. 

They feel the suctioning air of the airlock before they turn the corner. The three of them hold on to the walls as best they can to not go flying out, and Chanyeol really wants to tell Sehun not to keep going. He’s too young, it’s so dangerous, but Sehun signed up for this same as him. They turn the corner to see Yixing kneeling on the ground. Holding onto the cargo straps on the wall with one hand to stop himself from flying out, his other arm is wrapped around Baekhyun, laying on the floor right by him. 

Yifan is almost at the airlock door, holding on to the wall and taking slow, measured steps. Chanyeol and others stop where they are, holding on to the cargo straps with all their strength, and when Yifan reaches the door and pulls the lever to shut it, Sehun collapses behind him. 

Minseok catches Sehun, but Chanyeol is already making his way over to Yixing and Baekhyun. Baekhyun still isn’t moving, and as Chanyeol gets closer, he notices that Baekhyun’s helmet is cracked along the back. 

“What happened?” Minseok and Sehun are making their way over, Minseok supporting some of Sehun’s weight, with the taller boy leaning on him as they walk.

“Yifan and I were refueling the engines when we heard the alarm. Baekhyun and Han were both here. Baekhyun was about to go out the airlock, but we caught him. I….I couldn’t catch him and Han in time. Baekhyun was closer to me. We don’t know how the door opened, but I need to get him to the Medbay. I think he was already unconscious when we caught him.”

“I’ll carry him for you.”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Baekhyun, as it turns out, is fine, and Chanyeol is relieved. Yixing had left for his shift at the reactor, with instructions for Baekhyun to stay put for a while. Yifan had also just left, offering to pick up a new helmet for Baekhyun from the storage area, and Chanyeol is left to keep Baekhyun company.

“How did the airlock open?” Chanyeol tries not to mention Han, unsure of how upset Baekhyun would be. The poor boy has been more and more sullen the further into the trip they get, and Chanyeol can’t necessarily blame him. He never wanted this job, and now everyone around them is dying. 

Baekhyun shakes his head, but Chanyeol is spared from probing for more information by Sehun coming in.

“Hey hyungs. How are you feeling, Baekhyun?” Sehun makes his way over to the scanner, letting the lights circle around him while he talks. 

“Alright, I guess. Anything exciting happening with you?”

“Yeah, check this out.” Sehun pauses, waiting for the scan to complete before coming over to Baekhyun’s bed and sitting down. “So I was going through the files, trying to get the cameras’ memory back up, and find out what happened to Junmyeon and Kyungsoo, but I came across something really interesting instead.”

He lowers his voice, and Chanyeol instinctively leans in to hear better.

“You know we keep sending our daily logs to headquarters, right? Because the ships are connected to the cloud, even though the settlement isn’t, yet.” Chanyeol and Baekhyun nod. “Well, I was digging around in the cloud, and it’s a fake. It pulls up some bogus signoff letting you think you sent the logs to headquarters, but it’s all just bouncing around to one account, and that account is connected to the ship. So I traced it, and it’s Yifan’s account. He collects our logs, and then sends them to headquarters.”

“That isn’t too bad, is it?” Baekhyun’s voice wavers for a second.

“Well, maybe it wouldn’t be. Except he changes the logs before he sends them. I checked the ones from this trip, and none of his messages home have even mentioned anything happening to the crew. He makes it sound like everything’s totally fine.”

“I’m just thinking, he’s the guide for a lot of trips to the settlement. If he’s doing it with our logs, how many trips has he taken where people have gotten hurt, or killed, and he never said anything?”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Chanyeol and Minseok are in Communications, keeping Sehun company while he works on the computers. The youngest is excitedly telling them about his work, and they both indulge him, despite not having a clue what he’s saying. 

It’s relaxing, really, after the stress of everything. Which is why Chanyeol maybe shouldn’t be as surprised as he is when the oxygen alarm starts blaring. Chanyeol frowns as he stands. It’ll be an inconvenience to fix, but they wear their helmets for this exact reason.

Except, as he turns to the door, it slams shut in his face, and Sehun starts gasping for air at his spot by the computer. Chanyeol turns, and knows he and Minseok spot it at the same time- the oxygen filter light blinking red on the side of Sehun’s helmet. It’s damaged, and without being able to fix the ship’s oxygen filter, Sehun doesn’t stand a chance.

Chanyeol freezes, not sure what to do, but Minseok runs up to Sehun, and takes his helmet off. It’s like this that Chanyeol can see how young Sehun really is. Shoulders squared, Minseok takes off his own helmet and slides it over Sehun’s head, the white standing out above the yellow. He doesn’t let go, keeping it there as Sehun tries to get it off, but Sehun doesn’t seem to get any stronger, even as Minseok’s eyes start to blink closed. And then, Chanyeol sees it, in the reflection of the computer. Minseok’s helmet, blinking red.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Yifan and Yixing are on shift together at the reactor. Yixing hums as they sit, seeming to enjoy the peace and quiet. Yifan looks over at him, wondering if Yixing was really this calm, or if it was an act. 

Too much has happened for somebody to be like this. What could be coming next? Could he take for granted that Yixing was actually okay right now, trusting of Yifan, as a guide, or did he have something up his sleeve? 

Yifan holds his blaster close, not willing to be caught unprepared if Yixing was more suspicious than he was letting on. Yixing sits up, across the room, stretching, and Yifan tenses. And then the oxygen siren starts blaring.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Baekhyun pries open the doors to Communications. Chanyeol is standing there, frozen, as Minseok and Sehun start to collapse on the other side of the room. Baekhyun grabs Chanyeol’s arm, pulling him.

“Chanyeol, come on. You have to come with me.” 

Chanyeol starts to come to his senses, and tries to get to the others, but Baekhyun digs in his heels, pulling Chanyeol away.

“Chanyeol, please, there’s no time. Come on.” He drags Chanyeol away, the taller man only half cooperating as his mind tries to wrap around what’s happening. 

There’s the sound of a blaster firing, coming from the reactor where Baekhyun knows Yifan and Yixing were on a shift together. He starts to run, pulling Chanyeol, and he slides a bit as he goes around corners, refusing to slow down. 

Chanyeol stumbles a bit as he tries to keep up, and Baekhyun knows he’s running out of time, and explanations.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Chanyeol is disoriented. There’s just too much going on, and he has no idea where Baekhyun is taking him, leaving the oxygen filter farther and farther behind them. 

“No, Baek, we have to get to the filter, Minseok and Sehun might still have a chance.”

“No, they don’t.” Baekhyun’s voice leaves no room for arguments, even coming out in huffs as he runs. 

Baekhyun comes to a stop in front of what Chanyeol belatedly realizes are escape pods, pulling up the destination screen, and shoving Chanyeol inside the nearest one.

Chanyeol turns, still trying to get back to the oxygen filter, but the doors slam in his face, Baekhyun looking at him from the other side of the glass. 

“I’m sorry, Chanyeol. I’m so sorry. I didn’t expect to find a friend.”

In the darkness between the flashes of alarm lights, Chanyeol can just make out Baekhyun’s face behind his helmet, the smaller boy’s eyes shining, with tears.

Eyes. 

Red Eyes. 

Chanyeol’s stomach sinks.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Baekhyun sends off the escape pod, right as Yifan walks in. Yifan sighs, and walks over to the ammunition screens, but Baekhyun stands still, watching the escape pod get smaller as it gets further away. 

“Why would you let him go? Completing this mission successfully would save your brother.”

“I know. I just. I just couldn’t do it. How could you do it? You’re the human.”

“Humans don’t belong that far out in space. That land belongs to your people.”

“So you lie to them all.”

“I do what’s right.”

“Do you lie to your fiance, too?”

“No. He makes the assignments for me. He’s the one who paired you to me, and who makes sure that no humans get assigned to Mira for training.”

There’s silence, except for the sound of Yifan typing. 

“How do you become a good liar?” Baekhyun knows his voice is soft, but he can’t bring himself to care, as he watches the escape pod.

Yifan hums. “Preparation. Partial truths, too. Nobody will believe without a little evidence. But you don’t need too much, either. People will believe what they want to. The evidence just helps them think they’re making the right choice. It’s assurance, proof. It’s power.”

Baekhyun is silent, and Yifan continues. “Always be ready to fall for your own lies. Always believe.”

Yifan hits a final button, and a missile shoots out. Just a moment later, Baekhyun sees the flames of the escape pod. Chanyeol never stood a chance.

“And, of course, you always need to remember what you’re doing it for.”

Yifan turns to leave, but stops, looking at Baekhyun before he leaves.

“I wouldn’t really know, though. I’m not a liar.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you've made this far, thanks for reading! Did you guess who the Imposters were? Let me know in the comments!   
> Yes, in my mind, Yifan has been sabotaging every ship and there isn't actually an established colony because of it.  
> **This work is heavily based on the wonderful, wonderful fanarts in the Among Us communities, but especially these 2:
> 
> https://gunabug.tumblr.com/post/631075607370989568/kazimir29-the-price-of-the-guilty-when
> 
> and
> 
> https://gunabug.tumblr.com/post/630423469680721920/andy-deer-i-would-not-know-what-makes-a-good
> 
> I haven't figured out how to put a link into one word like other authors, sooo yeah those are the links. Enjoy.


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